THE COYOTE AND THE ROADRUNNER: DIGITAL OPTIONS IMPACT ON INNOVATION SPEED
GRADUATE RESEARCH DISSERTATIONS
CHAIR: HUMAYUN ZAFAR, PH.D. | SECOND: SAURABH GUPTA, PH.D. | READER: KHAWAJA SAEED, PH.D.
BUSINESS IMPACT
SCHOLARLY ABSTRACT
Digital options theory, which includes knowledge and process components, contends that IT capabilities influ - ence digital options, which influence agility and, there - fore, competitive actions. This paper uses a multi-method, multi-study approach to explore innovation speed as the competitive action in the context of digital options theory. Since scales for the digital options constructs do not exist, this research seeks to establish a measurement instrument for the four digital option generators: knowledge reach, knowledge richness, process reach, and process richness. This research then leverages the constructs in an empirical study to measure the effect of IT capabilities on digital op - tions, the impact of digital options on innovation agility, and, finally, the impact of innovation agility on innovation speed. Contrary to the theoretical foundation, this study was only able to develop a single digital options generator that encompasses knowledge and process. Using this con - struct in the larger conceptual model, it was found that IT capabilities positively impacted digital options. The more lightweight the IT capabilities, the higher the impact. Dig - ital options were found to positively impact innovation agility, and innovation agility was found to positively im - pact innovation speed. Keywords: financial services, fintech, innovation speed, agility, digital options, knowledge reach, knowledge richness, process reach, process richness, IT capabilities, heavyweight, lightweight
IT capabilities → digital options → innovation agility → innovation speed (confirmed chain). CIOs and heads of innovation should treat “digital op - tions” (the ability to recombine knowledge and processes quickly) as a measurable intermediate objective. Invest - ments in IT that increase agility will pay off in faster prod - uct and service innovation, especially in financial services and fintech. A single, empirically supported digital-options construct (combining knowledge + process) performed better than four separate generators. For analytics and strategy teams, it may be more prac - tical to track a composite “digital options” index than to over‑segment capabilities. This simplifies dashboards and makes it easier to communicate how IT readiness links to speed and market response. Lightweight IT capabilities had a stronger positive impact than heavyweight ones Rather than only investing in large, rigid platforms, or - ganizations should prioritize lighter‑weight, modular, API‑driven tools that can be reconfigured quickly. This is particularly critical in fast‑moving competitive environ - ments where innovation speed is a differentiator.
BARRY ROBBINS, PH.D.
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